Ice-damage preventer for swimming pools



Aug. 28, 1962 c. E. HARRISON 3,050,750

ICE-DAMAGE PREVENTER FOR SWIMMING POOLS Filed Nov. 13, 1958 CHARLES E. HARRISON ATTORNEYS run-r:

This invention relates to an ice-damage preventer for swimming pools. More specifically, this invention relates to an inflated elongated flexible-walled container adapted to be disposed in a swimming pool in the winter and to serve as a cushion to absorb the expanding force of forming ice so that the said force does not act outwardly to damage the walls of the swimming pool.

The popularity of swimming pools has increased immensely in the past few years so that now privately owned backyard swimming pools are quite common. While privately owned swimming pools are not diflicult to care for, a few simple precautions to preclude damage to them may be taken. One such precaution, especially applicable to swimming pools in winter climate, is to keep the pool filled with water all winter. This offsets the inward pressure of the ground surrounding the pool and thereby prevents the inward collapse, cracking or buckling of the walls.

In keepingthe pool filled all winter another possibility of damage arises; namely, the possibility of ice damage to the walls of the pool. Ice, of course, on expanding will normally force outward on the walls of the pool causing them perhaps to collapse outwardly or to crack and lose their water-tight quality. In the past, it has been the practice to eliminate such ice damage by floating a log or railroad tie in the pool all winter. Such a floating object will absorb some of the lateral pressure of expanding ice and reduce the possibility of wall damage. However, the use of such an object has been found unsatisfactory for a number of reasons. First, a log or the like has limited compressibility so that during a long spell of cold weather the limit of compressibility is reached and the ice expands further and may damage the walls of the pool. Second, logs or the like are extremely heavy, especially when soaked, and are diflicult to lift from the pool and move around when spring comes. There is also a storage problem during the summer. A fourth problem arises in that logs will discolor the water,

possibly unnecessarily staining the walls of the pool. It'

has also been found that a floating log having sharp corners can damage the plastic or other wall facing layer of a pool of a modern type.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide for a swimming pool an ice-damage preventer comprising an inflated flexible-walled container which has a great capacity for absorbing the force of the expanding ice to prevent damage to the walls of the pool.

It is a further object of this invention to provide for a swimming pool an ice-damage preventer which is light and easy to move around and is deflatable to eliminate any storage problem during the summer.

It is another object of this invention to provide for a swimming pool an ice-damage preventer which will not discolor the water.

This invention embodies other novel features, details of construction and arrangement of parts which are hereinafter set forth in the specification and claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is perspective view of a container embodying the invention also showing a transverse cross section thereof;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a container embodying the invention;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a container embodying the invention; and

,75 Patented Aug. 28, 1962 tainer embodying the invention is shown in FIG. 1 and generally designated 10. The container is elongated and along the majority of its length the lower portion has the transverse cross section of a downwardly directed wedge while the upper portion is full and rounded. The shape shown has, after much experiment, been found to provide a maximum capacity for compression at the water line WT. and thus it there absorbs a large amount of the expanding force of forming ice. The portion of the container below the water line tapers down to provide a decreasing compression capacity as its lower end is approached. This decreasing capacity corresponds with the decreasing force of the ice as the distance from the water line increases. The tapering of the container permits its maximum effectiveness with a minimum utilization of material and a minimum amount of weight necessary to submerge it to an effective level.

The container is flexible walled, being made of rubberized fabric or a plastic such as polyethylene with or without a fabric reinforcing lamination and appropriately sewn or welded to assume when inflated the shape shown. It may be inflated by means of a conventional closable fill tube 12.

Running along'the lower edge 13' of the container and sewn thereto or otherwise attached is a pocket 14 having an opening 16 at one or both ends of the container. The opening into the pocket is provided with snap fastener 18 or similar closure means. The pocket is adapted to receive a weight 20 in the formof a pipe, lead slugs, buckshot, sand, or even rolls of material of suitable weight to keep the lower end of the container submerged to the level desired. The container has been found to work well with its lower edge submerged 18 to 20' inches. This is well over one-half the height of the container.

As shown in FIG. 3, the ends of the material of the container are sewn or welded together in a vertical seam 22. Between this seam and the edge of the material the double thickness margin thus formed is provided with a plurality of grommets 24 adapted to receive a line or lines L by which the position of the container relative to the pool may be stabilized as desired. Lines may also be used to connect a plurality of containers in a string along the length of the pool. In addition to the grommets, the margins of the container may be provided with parts 26 of separable fasteners each adapted to be mated with a complementing part of a fastener on a similar container. By this means two or more containers can be attached together and strung along the pool P, as shown in FIG. 4.

While the weighted containers of my invention are inexpensive to produce, they are extremely effective in preventing ice danrage to swimming pools. The containers are adapted to float partially submerged in the swimming pool all winter. They present no water discoloration problem. When spring comes, they may easily be lifted out of the pool and deflated. The weight pocket may be opened by unfastening the closure means and the weight removed therefrom and, if desired, thrown away. The deflated container may then be folded or rolled up and stored in a convenient location.

While this invention has been shown in but one form,

it is obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention.

V I claim: 1. For a swimming pool an ice-damage preventer comprising a closed, horizontally elongated inflated flexible walled container, a pocket secured along the outside of the lower-end of the container'and depending therefrom, said pocket having an opening at one end, closure means for said opening, said pocket housing weights adapted when said container is placed in water to hold said container in a substantially stable condition with its lower end down and with over one-half of its height submerged, said pocket housing said weight being of greater transverse horizontal dimension than the lower end of said container.

2. For a swimimng pool an ice-damage preventer as described in claim 1 wherein the lower portion of said container has along the majorityof its length the transverse cross section of a downwardly directed wedge.

3. For a swimming pool an ice-damage preventer References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,468,464 Elias Sept. 18, 1923 2,415,488 Dunsheath Feb. 11, 1947 2,451,855 Mercier Oct. 19, 1948 2,686,323 McCarty .-Aug. 17, 1954 2,700,649 Hosford Jan. 25, 1955 2,875,721 Downey Mar. 3, 1959 2,937,825 Yost May'24, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Feb. 3, 

